Sheet delivery mechanism for printing presses



May 14, 1935. H. M. BARBER SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed July 31, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l O O III IIhNm I I I k I l ll IIZVTQR A TTORNE Y5 May 14, 1935., H. M. BARBER SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed July 31, 1934 2 Sh eetsSheet 2 IN VENTOR A TTORNEYS Patented May 14, 1935 UNiTED STATES PATENT o -Flcr.

PRINTING PRESSES Howard M. Barber, Pawcatuek, Comm, assignor to C. B. Cottrell it Sons Company, Westerly, R. L, a corporation of Delaware Application July 31, 1934, Serial No. 737,688 I 4 Claims.

In sheet feed rotary presses the product of the press is necessarily limited by the number of sheets which can be successfully delivered during a certain period. With the press running at high speeds it is dimcult to successfully deliver the sheets fiat in a single pile because of the trapping of the air between the sheets in the pile. Various mechanisms have been proposed for solving this problem in an effective and reasonable manner.

My invention provides means whereby the sheets may be delivered flat to a plurality of piles with the press running at high speed and at the speed of the press.

My invention comprises a sheet delivery of the above character in which there is provided a sheet delivery rotary carrier arranged to take successive sheets from the impression cylinder at the surface speed thereof, a sheet transfer endless carrier arranged to take the successive sheets from the rotary carrier at the surface speed thereof, and a plurality of sheet delivery endless carriers arranged to take alternate sheets from the sheet transfer endless carrier at different points thereon, at the surface speed thereof.

My invention further comprises manually controlled means for causing one of the sheet delivery endless carriers to deliver all of the sheets to its 'pile, when so desired.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 represents diagrammatically in side elevation so much of a sheet feed rotary multi color printing press as will give a clear understanding of my invention, the gears being connected to drive the sheet delivery endless carriers at the same surface speed as the impression cylinder, the sheet delivery rotary carrier, and the sheet transfer endless carrier;

Fig. 2 represents in detail side elevation the driving gear connection between the sheet delivery rotary carrier, the sheet delivery endless carriers, and the sheet transfer endless carrier;

Fig. 3 represents a detail view in side elevation on an enlarged scale of the mechanism for moving the cams which control the coacting grippers of one of the sheet delivery endless carriers and the sheet transfer endless carrier, to normally transfer alternate sheets from the sheet trans- O fer endless carrier to the said sheet delivery endless carrier;

Fig. 4 represents a detail side view of one of the sets of grippers on the sheet delivery endless carrier, taken adjacent to one of the side chains thereof;

Fig. 5 represents a similar view taken adjacent to the other side chain thereof;

Fig. 6 represents a transverse section taken in the plane of the line VI-VI of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. '7 represents a cross section taken in the plane of the line VII-VII of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 8 represents a cross section taken in the plane of the line VIIL-VHI of Fig. 4, looking in 10 the direction of the arrows.

The impression cylinder is denoted by i and its form cylinders by 2. The sheet feed rotary'carrier is denoted by 3 and the sheet delivery rotary carrier is denotedby 4. The sheet transfer end- 15 less carrier is denoted by 5 and the uppflr and lower sheet delivery endless carriers are denoted by 6 and 1 respectively, the upper sheet delivery endless carrier being arranged to deliver its sheets to the pile 8 and the lower sheet delivery 20- endless carrier being arranged to deliver its .sheets to the pile 9.

The impression cylinder I is herein shown as being provided with two sets of diametrically opposed grippers i0 and II, a fixed cam i2 being 25 provided for operating the grippers to respectively take the sheets from the sheet feed rotary carrier 3 and deliver the sheets to the sheet delivery rotary carrier 4.

The sheet feed rotary carrier 3 is provided with" 30 a set of tumbler actuated grippers iii, the 'usual pins l4, l5 being provided for operating the tumbler gripper cam it to respectively take the sheets from thesource of supply I! and transfer them successively to the grippers i0 and II of the im- 35 pression cylinder l.

The sheet delivery rotary carrier 4 is provided with a set of grippers I 8, a fixed cam I!) being provided for operating the grippers to take the successive sheets from the impression cylinder 40 grippers iii and H and deliver the sheets to the sheet transfer endless carrier 5.

This sheet transfer endless carrier 5 may be of the usual endless side chain type, provided with spaced transverse sets of grippers 20 mounted 45 between the side chains of said transfer endless carrier.

The upper and lower sheet delivery endless carriers 6 and I may be of the well known side chain type, the upper endless delivery carrier being provided with spaced sets of grippers 2| arranged to take alternate sheets from the grippers '20 of the sheet transfer endless carrier 5 at one point and the lower delivery endless carrier being provided with sets of grippers 22 arranged to take sheet transfer endless carrier 5 at another point.

A fixed cam 23 is provided for opening the grippers 20 of the endless carrier 5 to receive successive sheets from the grippers I8 on the rotary carrier 4. A fixed cam 24'is arranged in position to coact with a fixed cam 25 to cause alternate sheets to .be transferred from the grippers 29 of the transfer endless carrier 5 to their respective grippers 22 of the lower sheet delivery endless carrier 1.

A fixed cam 26 is provided for opening the grippers 2| of the upper delivery endless carrier 6, to deliver the sheets on to the pile 8, and a fixed cam 21 is likewise provided for opening the grippers 22 of the lower delivery endless carrier, to deliver the sheets on to the pile 9.

The several sets of grippers on the sheet transfer and delivery endless carriers are alike and, therefore, a particular description of one only of the sets will sufiice, for instance, the-set of grippers 2| on the upper sheet delivery endless carrier 6.

A crossbar 28 is mounted at its ends in the side chains of the endless carrier, along which crossbar at spaced intervals the relatively fixed jaws 29 of the set of grippers 2| are clamped. A rocking crossbar 30 is mounted at its ends in ears 3| projecting laterally from the fixed crossbar 28, along which rocking crossbar 3|! are clamped at intervals the movable jaws 32 of the set of grippers 2|, in position to coact with their respective fixed jaws 29.

These movable jaws 32 are yieldingly held closed by a spring pressed rocking lever 33 fast on the crossbar 30, said lever having a projection 34 engaging the bracket 35 on the fixed crossbar 28, between which bracket and the lever 33 the expansion coil spring 36 is interposed. At one endof the rocking crossbar 30 I provide an arm 31 which carries a stud or roller 38, arranged in position-to be engaged by its cams for control-' ling the operation of the grippers.

Interconnected movable earns 39, 49 are provided for operating the coacting sets of grippers 20 and 2| on the sheet transfer endless carrier 5 and sheet delivery endless carrier 6 respectively,

to transfer alternate sheets to the endless carrier 6. The cam 39 is carried by one arm 4| of a spring pressed rock lever pivoted at 42, the other arm 43 of which rock lever is connected by a rod 44 to an arm 45 of a spring pressed rock lever ;pivoted at 46, another arm 41 of which lever is connected by arod 48 to the free end of the cam 40 which is pivoted at 49. A third arm 50 of the lever pivoted at 46 is connected to one end of a rod 5|, the other end of which rod carries a stud or roller 52, operated by a cam 53 fast on the shaft 54 of the impression cylinder The sheet transfer endless carrier and the upper and lower sheet delivery endless carriers 6 and I are all driven at the same surface speeds as the sheet feed rotary carrier 3, the impression cylinder I and the sheet delivery rotary carrier 4, in the present instance by the following trairi of gears:

A gear 55 on the impression cylinder meshes with a gear 56 on the rotary carrier 4. A gear 51 on the-rotary carrier 4 meshes with a gear 58 which in turn meshes with a gear 59 fast on the shaft 60 which carries the sprockets at the inner end .of the endless carrier'6. This gear 59 also meshes with a gear 6| which in turn meshes with a..gear 62 fast on the shaft 63 which carries the sprockets at the inner end of the lower endless the remaining sheets from the grippers 29 of the carrier 1.,;-. This gear 62 in turn meshes with a gear 64 fast on the shaft 65 which carries the sprockets at the outer end of the endless carrier 5.

I have provided manually controlled means for holding both of the movable cams 39 and 40 stationary in their operative position so that all of the sheets may be transferred, if so desired, from the endless carrier 5 to the upper endless carrier6 for delivery on to the outer pile 9 for inspection or other purposes. This may be accomplished by providing a manually operated lever pivoted at 66, said lever having one arm 61 connected to a rod 68 leading to a convenient point for manual manipulation. This lever is also provided with'another arm 69 arranged to be swung into position to. engage a stop on the connecting rod 5|, thus preventing the stud or roller 52 from being operated by the cam 53 of the impression cylinder shaft 54.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided simple and effective means whereby it is possible to run the printing press at high speeds and yet sucessfully deliver the sheets fiat in two piles, time being permitted thereby for the proper settling of the sheets on their respective piles.

It is evident that various changes may be resorted .to in the construction, form and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not intend to be limited to the particular embodi! out herein shown and described,

but

What I claim is:

1. In a sheet feed rotary printing press, an impression cylinder and a flat sheet delivery therefor, comprising a sheet transfer endless chain carrier, a plurality of sheet delivery endless chain carriers coacting therewith to take alternate sheets from the sheet transfer endless carrier at different points-thereon, and means for driving the sheet transfer endless chain carrier and the sheet, delivery endless chain carriers all at the same surface speed as the impression cylinder. 7

2. In a sheet feed rotary printing press, an impression cylinder and a flat sheet delivery therefor, comprising a sheet delivery rotary carrier, a sheet transfer endless chain carrier, a plurality of sheet delivery endless chain carriers arranged to take alternate sheets from the sheet transfer endless chain carrier at different points thereon, and means for driving the sheet delivery rotary carrier, the sheet transfer endless chain carrier and the sheet delivery endless chain carriers all at the same surface speed as the-impression cylinder.

3. In a sheet feed rotary printing press, an

impression cylinder and. a fiat sheet delivery 1 sheet delivery endless carriers all at the same surface speed as the impression cylinder.

4; In a sheet feed rotary printing press, an impression cylinder having two sets of diametrically opposed grippers, a single sheet feed rotary carrier' for feeding successive sheets to said impression cylinder grippers, a'sheet delivery rotary carrier having a single set of grippers arranged to take successive sheets from the impression cylinder grippers at a single point, a sheet transfer endless chain carrier having grippers arranged to take successive sheets from the sheet delivery rotary carrier grippers at a single point, a plurality of sheet delivery endless chain carriers having grippers arranged to take alternate sheets from the sheet transfer endless chain c carrier grippers at diflerent points thereon, and

means for driving the sheet feed rotary carrier, the sheet delivery rotary carrier, the sheet transfer endless carrier and the sheet delivery endless carriers all at the same surface speed as the impression cylinder.

HOWARD M. BARBER. 

